P-Will: Keep Cool And Stay The Course

“No matter what you do, people are always gonna hate on you. The only thing that matters is how you react to it.”

Check out the interview with P-Will exclusively on Skilly Magazine Online.­­­­

Skilly: How were you able to start your journey in the entertainment business? Where did this all start?
P-Will: I have been very musical ever since I was little. I started taking piano lessons in second grade, then I moved to guitar, drums, and many more instruments. I ended up in hip hop because I was surrounded by it. Hip hop is what everyone is listening to nowadays, so I decided to push my musical creativity in that direction.

What are some of the creative ways you use to promote your music?Before I’m even done mixing and mastering a track, I’m hyping it up. I’m always posting something on Snapchat or Instagram to keep my followers in the loop. After a track is finished, I upload it to Soundcloud. Every finished track goes on Soundcloud. Once a track is posted, then I post about it everywhere I can to make sure people hear about it.

What is the greatest challenge you face in today’s entertainment business? How do you overcome them?The hardest part of being a musician is promoting the music. Unfortunately, this is one of the most important steps to success. I was once told that making the music is only 1/3 of the creative process while the other 2/3s goes to promotion. I overcome this challenge by telling everyone I know to check out my music. Word of mouth is everything in this business.

How is the music scene like in your hometown? What do you like about it and what don’t you like?I was raised in a small town in Maine called Freeport. In Freeport there aren’t too many hip hop heads which what I really didn’t like about it. It became frustrating when I was getting more and more into hip hop while most people around me didn’t know a thing about it. It wasn’t until I met SB and Na$ty Nick and formed the group The Gold Souls that I completely immersed myself in hip hop.

Where do you think the future of music is going to be? How do you feel artists can be more a part of it?I think the future of music is something that we can’t even grasp right now. I envision something incredible but nobody really knows what’s gonna happen in the next 10 to 15 years. Think about the progression from old school rap like classic Pac or Biggie to modern day Thug and Uzi. Nobody could have ever seen that coming.

What advice can you give to other upcoming artists and musicians trying to achieve success?Be yourself. That’s the bottom line. No matter what you do, people are always gonna hate on you. The only thing that matters is how you react to it. Don’t let what someone else thinks change how you act and how you make your music because haters are just bored, broke, lonely, or all three. Keep striving towards your own goals.

What inspires you to write your next song?I keep working hard for this because I know nothing but good will come out of it. I want people to know my name. I want to be out and have people yell and point at me saying, “Yo, that’s P-Will!” I want to be a role model for people my age doing the exact same thing as me. I want people to think, “If P-Will can do it, so can I.”

What are the steps you take to make a song?I don’t have a set list of steps for making a new song, but it normally always starts out with finding beats first. Once I find a beat I like, I listen to it probably about 15 times to get a feel for it. I do this because I want to make sure I can capture the vibe of the beat in my lyrics. Once I have a hook that matches the style of the beat, I go on to writing the verses. Then I go to the studio and record everything and more.

What do you think makes a great song?It’s gotta be catchy. If you don’t catch yourself humming the hook to that song, then you might as well not drop it. The melody in the hook has to be something that sticks with the listener, otherwise they won’t want to listen to it again or tell their friends about it. Also, the artist has to have their own sound. Nobody wants to listen to someone’s music that sounds exactly the same as another artist’s music.